Saturday, September 30, 2017

Edit: how can the press not criticize Bergoglio for having Daneels, who covered up rampant sex abuse on his watch, in a position of vital importance? Doesn't the Vatican need sweeping andnmopping? [Correction, wrong Daneels!. Anyway, why does Cardinal Daneels still have a position of trust in Bergoglio's inner-circle?]

[Catholic Herald] Pope Francis has reappointed Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke to the Apostolic Signatura, nearly three years after removing him as prefect.

The Holy See announced Saturday morning that the American cardinal had been appointed to the Vatican’s highest court along with Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Cardinal Edoardo Menichelli, Archbishop Frans Daneels and Bishop Johannes Willibrordus Maria Hendriks.

Cardinal Burke served as prefect of the court for six years before being removed in 2014 and appointed cardinal patron of the Order of Malta, a largely ceremonial post. It was highly unusual at the time to remove such a high-ranking cardinal without assigning him comparable responsibilities elsewhere.

He has since become a strong defender of traditional Church teaching and was one of the four cardinals who signed the ‘dubia’ requesting clarification on Amoris Laetitia.

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Edit: this is from the FSSP site with thanks from Accion Liturgica. There are plenty of pictures at the Society site with Cardinal Burke presiding:

The priestly ordinations of this academic end of year were conferred on Saturday, July 1st in the parish church of Lindenberg. The pontiff was His Eminence Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, cardinal-patron of the Order of Malta.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

(Rome) "The words of the Cardinals are full of respect. It may be assumed that it is their intention, through a direct conversation in a personal audience, to better "distinguish" the intentions and plans of Pope Francis, and possibly to make a fraternal correction in camera caritatis."

These words of the historian Roberto de Mattei confirm that the four cardinals were to confront Pope Francis in an audience about the situation of the Church and, if need be, more fraternally. This is probably the reason why Francis has denied them an audience and thus exacerbates the scarcely more tolerable state which he provoked by his post-synodal letter Amoris laetitia. The Cardinals had presented their Dubia (doubts) to him in September of the previous year . They asked him to clarify ambiguous passages in the papal document. Francis has refused to answer the questions of the Cardinals for nine months.

"Fraternal correction will come if the refusal of St. Francis continues," because it would be "devastating" not to clarify the questions.

In the middle of April, the Cardinal said in an interview with InfoVaticana that the ruling confusion was "very dangerous," because "with the confusion are the divisions: priests against priests" because of disagreements about whether those who are in a non-valid marriage or another irrational relationship that can receive sacraments.

On this occasion he also took a stand on the fraternal punishment. Whether it would be a public and formal punishment of the Pope "is not yet clear," the Cardinal said at the time. Before such a step, the Pope would be "personally confronted" and he would say to the public that "the situation is so serious that we must correct it". The Cardinal expressed the assumption that the Holy Father would react "at this moment" at the latest.

With the request for an audience, an attempt was made to enter into conversation about the Dubia with t silent pope. As de Mattei suggests, the intentions of the pope should be clarified and, if necessary, a fraternal correction of the Church's head should take place.

Pope Francis withdrew from this confrontation by not giving an audience to the cardinals or responding to their audience's request at all. How long will Francis be able to continue this refusal?

Monday, May 22, 2017

(Rome) This year's March for Life took place in Rome on Saturday. Tens of thousands of participants once again put a strong appearance for the right to life of unborn children. Since the March for Life in Italy has evolved into a major event within a few years, the mainstream media have moved to a new strategy. Since it is not possible to make fun of the March for Life because of lack of success, it is silenced - because it is too successful.

Daily newspapers and television, which, when politically appropriate, report about rallies from a handful of people, conceal the Seventh March for Life with thousands of participants. They have concealed it in advance, so that as few citizens as possible can know about it and come up with the idea to take part in it, and they conceal it afterwards. Success and failure are also driven by this. At least an attempted influence is also to be seen in it.

March for life Media Out, march for immigration media In

While the March for Life is largely ignored in the reporting, a simultaneous March for the Immigration in Milan found the greatest media attention. In Milan - no matter what the media acrobatics - hardly any more people took part than the march in Rome. The difference? The march for boundless immigration, organized by numerous leftist groups and some left-catholic associations, obviously fits better into someone's mind. This is not an ideological antithesis, one would like to make believe that the proponents of life are against the advocates of the immigration. It is to understand that life itself is always holy and unconditionally holy,

Thus, too, Catholicism is by no means is Catholic. The director of the Italian National Broadcasting Service frequents certain Catholic circles who were involved in the pro-immigration march in Milan, but could not be seen in the pro-life march in Rome. Correspondingly, the reporting failed. The millions of children murdered since the legalization of abortion are considered taboo in these circles.

When the march is concealed for life, this has nothing to do with the media (and those who have influence on the media). It starts in the Church itself. Behind the scenes, the legalization of euthanasia appears to be a matter of fact. Since then, the Church has been silent, as has been the case for years on the subject of abortion. If she has to talk about it, then it does not receive too much notice in the public. Above all, she does not go out into the streets for the unborn children: one should not exaggerate "the love of life", for the question is decided that the Zeitgeist is the same, the fight against it an overwrought thing of past times. Certain faithful and traditional Catholics remain, who do not want to accept the modern taboos.

Pope and bishops remain silent on abortion in Western Europe

As in the German-speaking world, the Church is also silent on abortion in Italy. This silence, of course, contains the necessary minimum, here and there a fleeting clue to signal that the Church still thinks as she always thought. Is this true? Is she really doing that yet? Doubts are appropriate. A real concern is that neither Pope Francis nor most West European bishops are concerned about the law of life. The homoeopathic dosage with which they employ themselves is lacking any initiative spirit, which is expressed elsewhere. It seems to be more a matter of appeasing those Catholics who have preserved an idea of the holiness of life. If these have occasionally dared to criticize, they may be referred to by this and that only casually.

In the run-up to the March for Life, the Rome Life Forum took place last Friday. Cardinal Carlo Caffarra said that "Satan challenges God with abortion and homosexuality". The history of mankind is a constant clash between these two forces. The final victory has already been decided, but up to that point, each man should decide, on the basis of his free will, in this struggle for one side or the other.

Today the consciousness has evaporated, "abortion is an obvious sign of the anti-creation," so says Cardinal Caffarra. The diabolic rebellion against God, which manifests itself in abortion and homosexuality, is a "sign of the apocalyptic times" that we experience, according to the Cardinal. We are not to talk about it at all. One must only have to accept and remain silent.

Riccardo Cascioli, the chief editor of Nuova Bussola Quotidiana , wrote in connection with the March for Life :

"It is no coincidence that there are voices about the establishment of a Vatican Commission even for the review of Humane Vitae. In the case of the two episcopal synods over the family, more than one bishop has raised such a demand. It is no coincidence that at the head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia was put in charge, a bishop who immediately set about destroying the work of John Paul II. Even the embassies of the Italian Episcopal Conference on the Day of Life avoid talking about abortion, although the day was introduced as a direct response to the abortion legalization of 1978."

Cardinal Burke and Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider

Among the participants of the March, Cardinal Raymond Burke and Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider were again present this year. Pope Francis sent a greeting message, which can be seen as progress, in view of the coldness with which it has encountered in the past several years of the right to life initiative. At first the March for Life took place on Sundayand was led to St. Peter's Square to participate in the Regina Coeli with the Pope. Francis greeted various groups, but not the March for Life. In the meantime, a decoupling of the two events took place. Obviously the Vatican entertains a meticulous distinction between a brief papal greeting from the State Secretariat and a personal greeting from the Pope in Saint Peter's Square,

Despite the opposition of the abortion lobby, the March for Life quickly became the most important date for the Life movement and the most visible event for the unborn children in Italy. Delegations came to Rome from 20 countries on Saturday to emphasize the international importance of the commitment to the right to life.

Coda Nunziante: "A nation that does not promote life is a nation that dies"

This year the march was under the motto "Uncompromising for Life". The President of the Organizing Committee, Virginia Coda Nunziante, said in her speech:

"This place, so abundantly occupied, wants to reveal the beauty of life, but, with a firm determination from our politicians, to demand that our rulers stop financing our suicide with our taxes. Instead of killing our children, we ask for concrete help for the families so that they can raise their children. We are convinced that the economy would also recover. A nation that does not promote life is a nation that dies. And that is the demographic prediction that our country is making true."

She also referred to the 100th anniversary of Fatima Apparitions.

"Fatima is the most extraordinary event of our era. The Mother of God has come and asked us not to offend God any longer. In the hundred years since, however, the situation has deteriorated decisively, because almost all states have laws against life, against the family, and against the nature of man."

Coda Nunziante quoted from a letter that Sr. Lucia dos Santos had written to Cardinal Caffarra in the 1980s. In this letter, the visionary of Fatima said that the final battle between God and the devil will be on the subject of life and family. Coda Nunziante cited it for the March for the Life.

"We face this challenge in the certainty that with the help of God, life will always win over death."

Friday, February 17, 2017

Edit: since when does a non-Catholic at an anti-Catholic paper presume to speak with such authority about things Catholic? Did Pope Francis make Jason Horowitz a Cardinal in pectore?(Washington) What of the video "against Pope Francis" reported in the New York Times last February 7?

Horowitz mentioned in the article a video, which was spread on Youtube against Pope Francis, while he described the author of it as a rigid, self-described traditionalist "fundamentalist" and - probably not unintentionally - inspired by the Islamic state (IS) and its crude propaganda videos.

The video was neither published nor linked to by Horowitz. We publish it so that everyone can get a picture for themselves.

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

(Lisbon) A concerted action seems to be taking place against Cardinal Raymond Burke. After the attacks of New York Times, Washington Post and La Nacion, yesterday followed the attack of the Portuguese daily, Publico.

There is hardly any chance of coincidence, especially since the tone and direction of leading media are the same in different countries.

"Burke. Orosto dos conservadores na luta contra o papa. "

"Burke, the Conservative's face in the struggle against the Pope," is the title of a detailed article which Cardinal Burke is not portrayed as a legitimate opponent in important questions concerning the office of the incumbent Pope, but as a dangerous enemy of Francis, whose attempts to "modernize" has been hindered by "conservatives."

Jason Horowitz threw the stone into the water in the New York Times when he created a connection between Cardinal Burke and the new US President Donald Trump. The connection exists only indirectly via Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon, nevertheless the intention of the NYTimes article seems to be, namely, to form fronts.

Donald Trump is so hateful in left circles that anyone who has to address Trump is motivated by the same hatred. According to this logic, Pope Francis is on the side of the "good". The Wallstreet Journal of 24 December saw him as the new leader of the global left after the leftist electoral defeat in the USA. Cardinal Burke, for whom Trump's current chief strategist Bannon, as head of Breitbart News found a word of praise for him in 2014, must accordingly belong to the "axis of evil" with Trump. In this way, Horowitz has extended the anti-Trump struggle to the Catholic Church. An interest in this may be the United States, where Catholics are by far the largest religious community. Since the US is a world power and the Catholic Church is a world Church, Horowitz's interference in internal church affairs leads to worldwide shocks.

Publico quoted the US-American Vaticanist John Thavis as saying:

"The Vatican is based on tradition, and when the different parts of this tradition begin to conflict, it is a dangerous sign."

The article is very Francis-friendly, whether it is Amoris laetitia or the Order of Malta, the blame is always pushed onto Cardinal Burke. The fact that Maltese internationally distributed contraception in emergency areas, including the abortion pill, is only known to the Portuguese daily, that a Vatican's examination commission had declared that there was nothing to it. That the attacks against Cardinal Burke are not a coincidence due to a connection with US President Trump, was apparent in the first press conference of Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, reappointed by Pope Francis as Grand Chancellor of the Order of Malta (see Boeselager Press Conference or How I educate the international press I attack Trump).

The concluding speech was given by Father Antonio Spadaro (2 + 2 = 5), Pope's confidant, and the head of the Jesuit journal Civiltà Cattolica, who saw Pope Francis as a guard against populism, whose chief exponent was Donald Trump. Pope Francis will not be stopped by the populists (whether Trump or Burke, is the context) in his reforms: "He goes forward, and fast forward," says Spadaro.

In the context of the Pope, some consultants seem to have taken an opportunity to see new alliances between the "Argentine" Church leadership and the mainstream of the Left.

Monday, February 13, 2017

[German Section of Radio Vatican] US President Donald Trump will also meet the Pope during his visit to the G7 summit in Italy. This is what the Rome correspondent of the news site "Breitbart News" told "Corriere della Sera". "Breitbart" had been headed by Steve Bannon until 2016, Trumps most important consultant. The past contact between Trump and the Pope was not a happy one, according to the correspondent Thomas Williams, a former member of the religious community "Legionaries of Christ".

There was a "certain mistrust" between the Pope and Bannon. Bannon considers the pope "naive in the subjects of emigration and radical Islam," said the Breitbart correspondent. He also reported on the contacts between the American Cardinal Raymond L. Burke and Bannon. Both are not friends because they have different styles: "Burke is methodical, Bannon is impetuous," says Williams.

When Trump was to appoint a new American ambassador to the Holy See, things were unclear. According to the journalist, there was a very pious man in the conversation whom he, Williams, advised. The new US ambassador to the Holy See, even if he was a Catholic, must articulate the position of President Trump.

Thomas Williams is married in Rome to the daughter of the former US Ambassador to the Holy See Mary Ann Glendon.

The G7 summit will take place on 26 and 27 May in Taormina (Sicily). A few days ago, the Vatican described speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and Pope Francis as "premature".

Thursday, January 12, 2017

"Long before the civilized countries came to establish international law, long before they formulated the dream of a common force to protect the healthy freedom of man, the independence of peoples, and a peaceful equilibrium in their mutual relations, The Order of St. John had gathered in a religious fraternity with military discipline, men from eight different 'languages' dedicated to the defense of the spiritual values ​​that form the common heritage and prerogative of Christianity: faith, justice, social order and peace ."

These words, which Pius XII. January 8, 1940, the Knights of the Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order taught, summarize the essentials of the oldest order of knights, the only currently existing sovereign state whose flag flew on the field of the Crusades. An order whose charism was always, that which is stated in its motto: Tuitio fidei et Obsequium pauperum (Testimony of Faith and Help the Needy).

Is it possible that a pope wants to destroy this institution, which is the glory of Christianity? Unfortunately, this impression comes from the recent events that affect the Maltese presidency.

On December 27, 2016 a first reconstruction of these events was carried out at this point. Edward Pentin deepened and enriched the scenario in an article in the National Catholic Register on 7 January 2017 with further details. The following is a summary: On the 6th of December, the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, Grand Chancellor Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager,resigned in the presence of two witnesses, one of them the Cardinal Patron Raymond Leo Burke, and Fra Matthew Festing. It had come to light that Grand Chancellor Boeselager had abused his power during his term as the Grand Hospitaller of the Order by promoting the distribution of condoms and preventive means, even those with an abortive effect in Third World countries.

In spite of his promise of obedience (promises), which obliged him to the Grand Master, the Grand Chancellor refused to resign. Thereupon, proceedings against him were initiated which suspended him from the exercise of any offices. Boeselager appealed to the Vatican Secretariat for help, who appointed an investigation commission to collect "elements that were capable of informing the Holy See completely and swiftly of the matter which recently concerning the Grand Chancellor of the Order, Mr. Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager," as the Vatican Press Office said on 22 December.

On December 23, the Grand Master of the Order declared the decision of the State Secretariat "unacceptable" and reminded the Vatican that Boeselager's dismissal is an "internal administrative act in the direction of the Sovereign Order of Malta and therefore falls exclusively within its jurisdiction." In a further statement of 10 January, the Grand Master reaffirmed his intention not to cooperate with the Vatican Investigation Commission, "also to protect his own sovereignty against initiatives that occur in a form which is objective (and therefore independent of the intentions, legally irrelevant) aim at challenging or at least restricting this sphere."

The Vatican initiative immediately gave the impression of a sensational gaffe . The legal order of the Order of Malta is defined by the 1997 reformed constitution. Article 3 of the Constitution states in paragraph 1:

"The Order is the subject of international law and exercises the functions connected with the rights of sovereignty."

These functions are: the executive, represented by the Grand Master, assisted by the Sovereign Council; The Legislative, represented by the General Chapter; The judiciary, represented by the magistral tribunals. The Maltese Vicar provides diplomatic passports and has offices in Rome where he officially receives the representatives of more than 100 states with whom he has equal diplomatic relations. The Order enjoys priveleged relations with the Holy See, but in complete independence. The Holy See appoints a Cardinal Patron and an Ambassador to the Order, according to the provisions of international law. As Professor Paolo Gambi noted, the Order, in spite of its religious nature, which is common to ecclesiastical orders, occupies a completely special position, "enjoying an almost unique autonomy in the Church framework and the influence of this state [religious] is limited to members with perpetual vows" (La Soberana Orden de Malta militar en el orden juridico eclesial e internacional , Ius Canonicum , XLIV, no. 87 (2004), pp 197-231).

Article 4, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of the Sovereign of Malta, is clear:

"The religious character of the Order does not preclude the exercise of the rights of sovereignty granted to it, insofar as the Order is the subject of state recognized by international law."

The confirmation of this international law status, even against the Holy See, the Pontifical Yearbook , in which the Order is mentioned only once, not among the religious orders, but among embassies accredited by the Holy See. The 1997 Constitution has eliminated various ecclesiastical interventions that have existed before, including the approval of the Holy See to validate the vows.

Coat of arms of the Order of Malta

The responsibility of the Holy See on the religious life of the knights is limited to the members of the First Estate. These are the judges or professors who solemnly and forever take the three monastic vows. The members of the Second Class, the Knights and Ladies of obedience, take no vows, but are committed by the Promess of obedience and are therefore subject only to their superiors. Ex-Chancellor Albrecht von Boeselager is married and a father of five children, a layman and belongs to the Second Estate. He is not subordinate in any way to the Holy See. Apart from this, the Chevalier de Justice [Knight Judge] who (according to Art. 9, para. 1 of the Constitution) "Religious with all effects of Canon Law", are not obliged to live in community, which is an unicum representing the life of the Church. Fra Ludovico Chigi Albani della Rovere (1866-1951) was Prince and Grand Master of the Order from 1931-1951. After the death of his wife (1898), he gave solemn vows as a Judge, but still lived in the Palazzo Chigi, which until 1916 belonged to his family (at that time also home to the Austro-Hungarian Embassy and today is the seat of the Italian Prime Minister). There he led a life according to his status and rank.

Of course, the Church has the same right against the Maltese ordinance that it has against any sovereign state when it comes to problems that directly affect faith and morality. The Pope has the right and the duty to intervene in all political and social questions that have to do with the attainment of the highest goal of man, eternal life. When a state legitimates a natural sexual union, the pope has the duty to take a position and to challenge the grave violation of the Divine Law and Natural Law. When the Maltese ordinance promotes contraception and abortion, the Pope has the duty to raise his voice. Today, however, the opposite happens. The Church withdraws from its right of judgments on questions of morality which are of its own area and instead takes a position on political and administrative issues which are not part of its competence.

Christopher Lamb cited the Tablet of 5 January a letter from Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, the went to Fra Matthew Festing on 21 December. In this, the Grand Master is informed that Pope Francis desires the rescission Boeselager's deposition.

"As I expressed to you in my previous letter of December 12, 2016, as far as the use and diffusion of methods and means contrary to the moral law, His Holiness has asked for a dialogue on the way in which possible problems are dealt with and can be solved. But he has never spoken of sending someone away!"

Let us summarize: for those who violate the law of God and natural law, there is dialogue and the outstretched hand. For those who, on the other hand, for those who defend the faith and Catholic morality, the truncheon of the political commissioner and the commission of inquiry is ready.

The group of knights around Albrecht von Boeselager is a secularized current in the Order, which would like to convert the Maltese order into a humanitarian NGO. On the other hand, the Order's current leadership is defined by fidelity to the religious roots of the Order. Perhaps that is their greatest sin, to which another is joined. In the course of more than 950 years of history, the Sovereign Order of Malta has never lost its aristocratic, chivalrous and sovereign form. This image represents the exact opposite of miserabilism and egalitarianism, represented by those who govern the Church today. The result is that clericalism is criticized, but in fact is practiced with devastating consequences. The massive interference of the State Secretariat in the name of Pope Francis provokes chaos and division in the interior of the Order.

In its long history, the Sovereign Maltese Knights has survived all vicissitudes. In the 250 years in Palestine, the 210 years on Rhodes, the 270 years on Malta, its mission seemed to have ended many times, and yet it rose again and again, even as the storm of the French Revolution and Napoleon swept across Europe. It is to be hoped that Grandmaster Fra Matthew Festing and the Sovereign Council, who stand by him, will be able to withstand decisively the strong pressure exerted on them in these days. Nobody could ever have doubted the love and affection of Grand-Master Ludovico Chigi Albani for the Pope, who, in his function as Marshal of the Holy Roman Church, took part in the election of three Popes. Nevertheless, he resisted every ecclesiastical attempt to interfere with the life of the Order. The Holy See had to recognize the sovereign nature of the Order of Malta "without interference by a secular or ecclesiastical authority," as Benedict XVI. remembered when he received the knight on the occasion of the 900th anniversary of the granting of the privilege Pie postulatio voluntatis on 15 February 1113. With this solemn act, Pope Benedict emphasized, "Paschalis II placed the young Brotherhood of Jerusalem, named after St. John the Baptist, under the protection of the Church and made it sovereign."

* Roberto de Mattei , historian, father of five children, Professor of Modern History and History of Christianity at the European University of Rome, President of Lepanto Foundation, author of numerous books, most recently appeared: Vicario di Cristo. Il primato di Pietro tra normalità ed eccezione (Vicar of Christ. The primacy of Peter between normality and exception), Verona 2013; In English translation last: The Second Vatican Council - a hitherto unwritten story, Ruppichteroth 2011.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Cardinal George Pell and Cardinal Raymond Burke Have a DifficultSituation in Rome

(Rome) Some heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia have been removed by Pope Francis after his election to office. Others were left in office, but in fact isolated. Cardinal Pell is also under constant pressure.

The Dismissal of "Ratzingerians"

With the dismissals, it was not to questions of competence, but a directional decision.It touches on each convinced "Ratzingerianer", a cipher, which is shorthand encapsulating a faithful understanding of the Church.

First, the Italian Cardinal Mauro Piacenza was replaced as Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, and at only 70 year of age shoved off for the honorary management of the universal Church but completely insignificant post of Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary. In 2010 Cardinal Piacenza had assisted Pope Benedict XVI. to raise the Curé of Ars, St. John Mary Vianney as a model and patron of priests. It was an attempt that failed however, owing to violent resistance among the high clergy who rejected a 'pre-conciliar' priestly style as "backward-looking." Even the reigning Pope would not warm up to this priest model, replacing Cardinal Piacenza by a man of his choice.

The Catalan Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments , was considered a "little Ratzinger". His rejection of the "new Mercy" by Cardinal Walter Kasper, he had already announced at the cardinal consistory in February, 2014. As a head of a Dicastry, Cardinal Cañizares would have been an ex officio member of the Bishops' Synod on marriage and the family. However, Pope Francis appointed him shortly before the start of Synod 2014 as Archbishop of Valencia. His inauguration in Spain took place before the Synod opening day.

Immediately after the Synod was the American Cardinal Raymond Burke, who had, since 2008 been Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura and President of the Supreme Court of the Vatican State, had been literally chased from office.. Under Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Burke had a decisive influence on the appointment of bishops in the United States. Appointments, which created a healthy episcopate, in their orientation but found the reluctance of Pope Francis. In December 2013 he removed Cardinal Burke from the Congregation for Bishops and from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The real clash of opposing positions, however, would only be to follow. Cardinal Burke, a brilliant canon lawyer, was the spokesman for the defense of Catholic marriage and morality against the Kasper theses at the Synod of Bishops, 2014. He hinted at tampering on a grand scale with which the Synod of Bishops was canted in a progressive direction. He was so outraged that there could be such a thing in the Church, he hinted that the manipulation was carried out by papal support. Shortly before the start of the Synod, an anthology to defend the marriage sacrament and the natural family appeared at the initiative of Cardinal Burke with contributions by five well-known cardinals. The annoyance was so great that loud rumors began to circulate, Pope Francis cherished the intention to remove the cardinal from Rome in the papal environs. The threat would be a shot across the bow of Cardinal Burke to hold back at the Synod of Bishops. However, the US cardinal would not to be intimidated. Less than three weeks after the end of the Synod, Pope Francis acted on his threat and removed Cardinal Burke from the Roman Curia. As Cardinal Patronus of the Sovereign Military Order, the Cardinal has no more influence on the leadership of the Church. Above all, he was therefore excluded from participating in the Synod of Bishops, 2015. The deposition can also be seen in connection with the provisional administration of the traditional Order of Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. In a regular trial would be the case ended up as a last instance on the table by Cardinal Burke. It was a probability that they obviously did not want to risk in the papal circle.

The interventions involved the central areas clergy, liturgy and sacraments and the Supreme Court. With the appointment of Cardinal Robert Sarah, succeeding Cardinal Cañizares, Pope Francis barely reached what he had intended. Cardinal Sarah developed the new office to become one of the most famous and outstanding cardinal figures. The integration of Africa into the "Latin American Agenda" has so far failed miserably. The African Synod was valuable during the Synod of Bishops in 2015 with an energetic resistance against the "liberal Kasperians" ( Messa in Latino ).

The Marginalization of the Remaining "Ratzingerian"

The depositions of leading Church representatives will have disciplined others who do not want to suffer the same fate. Pope Francis is considered an expert strategist. Too many personal interventions have made a reconstruction of the Church obvious. The "right" dosage protects an open flank. The dicastry heads, with an unspoilt understanding of the church have little in common with Pope Francis, are ignored and marginalized by it. This concerns two more of the nine Curial Congregations: the Congregation of Faith and the Congregation for Bishops. Faith Prefect Cardinal Gerhard Müller and Bishop Prefect Cardinal Marc Ouellet were indeed left by Francis in office and dignity, but isolated. See:

This has the optical advantage that the Roman Curia seems "balanced" from the outside and more parts of the Church in Rome could feel somehow represented. It does not match the actual internal power relations. Pope Francis rules autocratically.

Cardinal George Pell: Dismissal from Australia

Another cardinal not trusted by Pope Francis. The Australian Cardinal George Pell is for the pope's progressive entourage, "the other side." When Pope Francis announced a month after his election, the establishment of a Cardinal Council that should assist in the reform of the Roman Curia and the guidance of the universal Church, he adopted a geographical key. Each continent should be represented by one Cardinal in the new body. Cardinal Pell was at this time the only Cardinal of Oceania and slipped inevitably into the so-called C8 Council of cardinal advisers (today C9 council of cardinal advisers). It was an unintentional "glitch" like the successor of Cardinal Cañizares.

Cardinal Pell was appointed in February 2014 even to the Roman Curia and appointed Prefect of the newly established Economic Secretariat. Actually an appreciation. First, the new dicastery existed only on paper, while Pope Francis had received the opportunity to restructure the Australian episcopate. Cardinal Pell was the dominant figure on the fifth continent because of his personality and his rank. Francis rejected all three proposed candidates for the successor of the Archbishop of Sydney, which had been suggested to him by the competent Cardinal Ouellet and Congregation of Bishops in consultation with Cardinal Pell. The Pope appointed a candidate of his choice. How this came about, was, as in other cases, completely opaque. According to the Canadian religious experts Alain Pronkin Pope Francis seeks the most "progressive candidates". He does not rely on the competent institutions, but to the recommendations of personal confidants.

There was puzzlement in Rome about the appointment of Cardinal Pell to the Curia. The most credible explanation seems that Pope Francis thus, made the same attempt as that made by the Pope John Paul II with Walter Kasper: Push back his influence in the home country by transportation and involve him in the papal agenda. But the Australian cardinal moved to Rome not of his convictions and proved in the Synod of Bishops as very staunch defender of Catholic marriage and morality. At the Synod in 2014, he continued his defense against the Kasper theses, although his microphone had been turned off by the Synod against the rules of procedure. About his situation it was said: "Some get dirty." Cardinal Burke called out the "dirty game" publicly and was promptly punished.

Again and again, therefore, there was of papal displeasure against Cardinal Pell's speech, or of "maneuvers" to remove him from Rome. There is also concern is also on the side of the Cardinal himself and reflects a general uncertainty in the Roman Curia. Whoever does not belong to the progressively aligned, narrow court of the Pope, spends his time in Rome with some trepidation.

The PricecaterhouseCoopers action

Yesterday it was announced that the contract for the audit of the Holy See by the company PricecaterhouseCoopers was to be "suspend." The accounting firm founded in 1865, headquartered in Frankfurt had taken over the external Audit of the Holy See and of Vatican City, as well as its tax advice. The relevant negotiations were handled by Pope Francis' Economic Council, headed by Cardinal Reinhard Marx as project coordinator.The commissioning of the Frankfurt-based company was announced last December 5, 2015.The duration of the contract relates to a period of three years.The order volume amounts to three million euros.The contract with PricecaterhouseCoopers was signed by Cardinal Pell as the competent prefect.

On the 20th and 23rd of February, the Cardinal had informed all Vatican offices that are subjected to investigation. Therein, the chief officers were informed that PricecaterhouseCoopers itself will be put in touch with them and that they would issue a permit that the auditors can talk to all competent managers of offices and which includes cooperating with them.

In recent days, the State Department suddenly issued a contrary order. All Vatican offices received a letter from Cardinal Secretary of State Parolin and his substitutes curia Archbishop Becciu that the Audit is "suspended." "A decision that can not be done without the consent of the pope," said Vatican Insider .

This involves neither PricewaterhouseCoopers nor their work. It isn't related to the "resistance" of some offices, wishing to avoid supervision. It involves "only" formal legal aspects.

Since last year, after a start-up time, the statutes were adopted for the Secretariat of the Economy and the Economic Council, the formal conclusion of the award of the contract does not comply with the intended procedure. This gap must be closed in accordance with the statutes and newly awarded the contract. He promulgated again PricewaterhouseCoopers. The measure would be to "rehabilitate" only formal errors that might otherwise give rise to legal complaints.

"Message to Cardinal Pell, who has the last word"

The details of this "strange" operation remain opaque. The C9 Council of cardinal advisers (to which Pell belongs) had been expressly discussed concerning orders to external firms just as Cardinal Secretary of State Parolin and Cardinal Coordinator of the Economic Council Marx. All the more astonishing is the intervention of the State Secretariat.

The situation this causes is embarrassing only for Cardinal Pell. He has signed the contract with the consent and on behalf of other, at least this suggests it. Worse there is the impression he is not capable of leading his office and -- even worse -- not contractible. Now there is the impression that he was unable to perform his duties.

Therefore Pell let it be known by a spokesman for the Economic Secretariat, "to be somewhat surprised" by the letter of the State Secretariat. But he was convinced that the "work of PricewaterhouseCoopers will continue soon."

The Vatican expert Edward Pentin ( National Catholic Register ) sees in the whole operation a "message" to Cardinal Pell. Apparently they wanted to give him to understand who's boss. He certainly did not.

Yesterday, Cardinal Pell was received by Pope Francis. It is to be assumed that the audience is in direct connection with these events. The moral of the story: Curia staff, the highest ranking that do not belong to Pope Francis' alignment [Chaotic Evil?], have a tough time at the Roman Curia.

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This is a polemical Catholic Royalist blog. It will also attempt to provide a window onto various events, situations and personalities not generally or favorably presented to the purview of the general public in the English speaking world. It also hopes to be a bridge for those who wish to cross over, unite and fight for the truth.